Early Life
William Joseph Sullivan was born on February 1, 1875 in the town of Oakland, Wisconsin, to Irish immigrant farmers. He attended Fort Atkinson High School, where he played mainly as an infielder until their regular catcher couldn't play due to an injury. Sullivan substituted and excelled; so much so that he began being scouted by a local amateur team.
After his graduation from High School, Sullivan played for an independent team located in Edgewater, Wisconsin. He played on his first professional team in 1896 for the Cedar Rapids Bunnies of the Western Association, a Class-B minor league. He stayed in the Western Association for the 1897 season, playing for the Dubuque, Iowa representative. In 124 games played that season, he batted just .216, but did hit seven home runs and stole 27 bases.
Sullivan then transferred to the Class-A Western League in 1898 to play for the Columbus Buckeyes, also referred to as the Senators, and had a .276 batting average in 68 games played. He stayed with the Buckeyes to begin the 1899 season, though he later moved with the team to Grand Rapids, Michigan; they then became known as the Furniture Makers. He was hitting .306 after 83 games when he was sold to the Boston Beaneaters of the National League for $1000.
Read more about this topic: Billy Sullivan (baseball)
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